The Anatomy of Affection
by with eyes looking up
Summary: Because love isn't always butterflies and rainbows, but it's still love. ItaSaku.


**The Anatomy of Affection **

**(ItaSaku, drabbles)**

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**NOTE::** This fic is a little odd. Every "part" is a chapter in their relationship, and is only ONE SENTENCE long. Yes, one. I just totally screwed up the rules of restrictions and made them run-ons. Majorly.

I'm a huge grammar freak usually, but this was fun. I hope you can enjoy it!

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**One; Winner**

She felt the world on her shoulders- a physical weight that grew and grew and grew until she was gasping for breath, until she was clawing at the figurative hands clenched in an iron grip around her throat, blocking air and thoughts, pushing her farther and farther back until she was screaming at him with a wail of agony that was heard by no one but him alone: "_You win, Itachi! You fucking win!"_ and he grinned under that cloak that was made of blood and sin and pain, and suddenly the weight was gone, and the last thing she remembered was the red of his eyes before everything faded and she faded into darkness.

**Two; Death**

When she woke next (to a spinning room and her head pounding and the silence deafening in her ears) she thought she had died…her body was numb from the very tips of her cold toes to the crown of her throbbing temple (loss of circulation- unfortunately it did nothing for the war going on behind her eyes) and she could her nothing besides her own harsh breathing for the longest time, and then the door opened with a squeal that made her cringe and light poured into her cell (because that's all it was, a dirty cell with nothing but dust particles) and when her eyes adjusted she found a very pleased looking Itachi peering down at her and murmuring a soft, "_Now_ will you heal my eyes, Sakura?" to which she answered in a desperate sob: "yes, god, _yes_" and he nodded; in that moment she found herself very much alive, but that the prospect of death would have been a lovely release from this nightmare she'd been forced into.

**Three; Curious**

Their first healing session was a little over a week later; she was being carefully eyed by a leering Kisame as she hovered above a horizontal (and wary) Uchiha, pouring her chakra into him and unclogging the blocked sight filters behind his eyes- briefly she wondered how much pain this must cause him then quickly dismissed the thought with a shake of her head because she was a Leaf ninja, their hostage, loyal to her village while he was the enemy, the ex-leaf, the traitor, the Akatsuki- she could not afford any feelings of concern or curiosity from this man…it would only cause her trouble in the end.

**Four; Energy**

After the first few months of initial – instinctual – hate began to wear off and Sakura found herself having almost (dare she say it) pleasant conversations with one Uchiha Itachi during their twice-a-weekly sessions as she filtered her healing chakra into him, eventually getting used to the draining of her power and the weakness that would fill her; she was feeling the side effects now and abruptly the energy left her quicker than usual, giving her no time to move- with a soft groan she collapsed upon Itachi who – in turn – caught her easily and laid her down on his bed (she could smell him in the sheets and felt her head spin) before blinking and staring into her eyes – in that moment she heard (herself) someone utter a soft "_beautiful_" before the darkness sunk in and sent her catapulting into her dreams.

**Five; Liking**

Sakura began to realize something, and it was something that made her insides clench and her palms sweat as she realized that she was beginning to _like_ them; Kisame's gruff behavior, how they shared the occasional drink after a sparring match, and Itachi with his beautiful eyes – that had been more recently a soft onyx at the medic's (Sakura's) command – and the gentle yet demanding lilt to his voice that made the blow flow immediately to her cheeks; she was starting to like them, and in some sick and twisted way, the deadly criminals who'd she'd once feared began to return the sentiments and like her back.

**Six; First**

The first time Sakura's lips met any man's out of raw passion had been two months into her capture on a dull and raining afternoon: she and Itachi were in his bedroom with another session to pass the time with she, healing his eyes and talking he silence away and he, slowly opening up and discussing with her jutsu of such caliber she'd never dare try them; it was an hour after they began when a cramp in her leg forced Sakura to shift awkwardly trying to continue her healing in the same moment when she suddenly lurched forward at the trip of the sheets, hand coming to rest on his chest and staring into his (oh god, so close) eyes in alarm when he tensed beneath her palm, eyes narrowing: in that second she knew was going to die and-…her next thought was cut off abruptly as she found her back to the mattress, Itachi straddling her, and his sweet taste filling her mouth as she gripped his hair in her hands.

**Seven; Starting**

It became ritual: every session would end and no matter how tired either party was, the kissing would begin- eventually Sakura grew daring and managed to slip her hands under his shirt to fondle his belt clasp-

-only to find him on the opposite side of the room not a moment later, gaze burning into hers as he growled out a quiet, "Watch what you start, Sakura…you might be asking for more than you can handle," and then he was gone with a swish of his cloak, leaving her behind to ponder his words as she drifted off into a restless sleep.

**Eight; Ice**

It took almost a week after that little incident for Itachi to corner her once again and capture her lips with his eagerly in the darkness of his makeshift base and during this time a terrible thought washed over her; one that immediately froze her and sent a finger of ice up her spine to return in the form of uncomfortable gooseflesh: _"What if he's using you? You're just his little toy, letting him control you with no question whatsoever…what happens with he tires of you, Sakura?" _and with this thought embedded firmly in her conscience, ripping her heart to shreds, she push against his chest firmly and found her feet taking her back to her room with a hurried urgency, not looking back for fear of what she would see through blurring eyes as the door slammed behind her.

**Nine; Reality **

Sakura didn't expect (and certainly didn't hope for) Itachi to follow her, and an hour into her self-wallowing she found she was right: no one went looking for her, no one slammed open the door and bellowed a "What the hell is your problem, princess? Itachi's killing stuff!" like she thought would happen- she was only left with only her own depressing thoughts and rolled over slash diminishing adrenaline from the kiss, as well as the familiar darkness that was again pressing down on her and forcing her to gasp for air, tears leaking from her eyes in fear, but now it was because she wanted him: she wanted his passionate kisses and soft caresses and lust filled gazes enough to wipe the wetness from her eyes and push away her conscience and stand to find him, the one that would hopefully force her away from this horrible nightmare that was now her reality.

**Ten; Flame**

And just like the first time, their lips had met with such an unbridled passion it was almost staggering: her mouth molded against his, their tongues dancing as his lithe form pressed hers into his mattress, hands searching her body and chasing away all thoughts of 'this is wrong' she could fabricate, sending her into pleasant chills of excitement and kindling the burning flame that began low in her belly, spreading like wildfire throughout her limbs and engulfing her with such a strong **need** that she was drowning in it and-

-and he pulled away just as she began to fall, smoldering eyes searching for something in her own, something she wasn't aware f, and when he finally found it that alluring smirk had returned and his lips descended upon hers once more.

**Eleven; Stop**

It was only the next morning when the soreness had settled between her thighs that her lust filled haze had lifted that she realized that she'd finally sealed the deal and that her fate had been decided for her when she's allowed him to take her in their (no long just his…_their_) base with groping hands and frantic, animalistic thrusts and cries of pleasure and-…and…"Oh god," Sakura whispered and immediately put her face in her hands and began to weep because she'd just now realized she could never return home because she'd never said-

"_Stop_."

**Twelve; Joining**

Once the crying and the angry pounding on Itachi (who took it like a man and let her hit him, looking almost bored the entire time beside the occasional wince) had ended and her fists lay against his bare chest, she finally decided after a long time of pondering the useless 'what if's: "I want to join," was her conclusion, the only path- Itachi stared at her for a long, tense moment, puzzled and frowning, and she scowled when his drifted gaze dropped to her bare chest…glaring at him in annoyance, she grabbed her clothes and stomped into the bathroom to shower and change so that _hopefully_ he'd pay attention and help her because she had absolutely **no** idea what she was supposed to do.

**Thirteen; Acceptance**

The initiation period was painless and easy- Pein, leader of the infamous Akatsuki, was a, surprisingly, peaceful and calming man and even though it could cost her life, Sakura found herself relaxing minutely in his presence as their discussion strayed from her joining to wars and finally to his plans for the world, for his utopia; they spoke for a long while before he gave her a cloak (that she once hated) and decided to tell her, just as she was leaving with an ever-silent Itachi at her side, of her first mission and official acceptance into the group: "Oh, and Sakura…" he smiled at her questioning look, "retrieve Orochimaru's ring, would you?" and the door closed in her face as Itachi uttered a soft sigh next to her.

**Fourteen; Enough**

At first the panic had set in, where she had paced back and forth in alarm, cursing everything and gesturing wildly as Itachi listened: "How in the name of God am I supposed to do this, Itachi? This is- this is _crazy_! Orochimaru is the one person I fear most, he-" but before she could finish, Itachi had risen from his chair to (god, was he _gliding_?!) stand in front of her, eyes red and spinning as he clasped his hands over her arms- she blinked at his serious gaze and he leaned forward to kiss her forehead and murmur a soft and reassuring:

"You'll do fine."

-and that was enough.

**Fifteen; Alive**

Two weeks later found Sakura staring at her hand (finger, actually) and contemplating just how the hell she'd managed to sneak into Sound, retrieve the ring and disappear before any alarm was raised; Itachi reclined next to her on the couch – haha, who would guess that Akatsuki had a lounge? Even if it was always empty… - but she ignored him in favor of the glittering jewel, hot and heavy against her left little finger… "Itachi?" she finally questioned and saw him turn from the corner of her eye, "…I think I died in battle. There's no way I actually got it this easy without Orochimaru know-" but he'd stopped her (again) and as his hands massaged her shoulders – sending pleasant shivers up her spine – he smirked into her ear and murmured: "Should I prove to you, Sakura, that you are very much alive?" and the next moment they were in the bedroom and he was doing just that.

**Sixteen; Addict**

"I knew it," Sakura confirmed one night as she and Itachi lay together in bed with his fingers tracing chilling patterns on the small of her back, "I knew it!" she exclaimed again to which he raised a silent, questioning eyebrow and halted the slow movement of his hand to wait for an answer- she grinned at him and giggled out a, "Al Uchiha men are sex addicts, aren't they?" she questioned, and the boasting pride in her voice was enough to make a smirk appear on his lips as his hand slipped down-

_-down_-

-to squeeze and make her blush and gasp as his smirk widened and he said, "you tell me," and they began…ahem…round _two_.

**Seventeen; Fairytale**

Their relationship was far from the perfect fairytales and bedtime stories Sakura had read as a child: Itachi was by no means the nice in shining armor riding gallantly atop his startling white steed to rescue her (wasn't he the one to freakin' kidnap her, after all?), she was _not_ a damsel in distress (she almost punched someone through a wall, if she could remember correctly), and no one was going to come and save her because-

- "I love you," Sakura finally murmured one day as they lay together and Itachi looked down at her averted eyes in surprise before a small, light smile touched her lips and the answer was enough for her as their "fairytale" began… -

_-she'd already been saved._

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**Le fin.**

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End file.
